This then remains: Remember to retire into this little territory of thy own, and, above all, do not distract or strain thyself, but be free, at look and things as a man, as a human being, as a citizen, as a mortal. But among the things readiest to thy hand to which thou shalt turn, let there be these, which are two. One is that things do not touch the soul, for they are external and remain immovable; but our perturbations come only from the opinion which is within. The other is that all these things, which thou seest, change immediately and will no longer be; and constantly bear in mind how many of these changes thou hast already witnessed. The universe is transformation; life is opinion. Marcus Aurelius

Top photo, above & below: Sunset at Cliff Tops 1/18.

_Morning,

It was another mild day on Mt. LeConte. The high was 34. The low was 18. It was clear in the morning, then cloudy much of the day. The ice on Alum was the worst that I have seen yet. Be sure to use extreme caution or bring your traction devices. It's very foggy right now and the forecast is calling for more rain on the weekend.

If you're as curious as I am about where all the snow went, my friend Dick sent me this link. My head trusts NASA, but in my heart I'll still doing my snow dances and hoping February turns into a 100 inch snowpocalypse.

As I watch the sun set, I am forced to reflect on whether this is reality or a projection of all my minds' wants & desires neatly met in some kind of alternate state. When I finally determine that this is indeed reality (old habit), I wonder if I can store up this kind of beauty. I hope that I can pull it out of my back pocket at a time of desperation, gather strength and equanimity from it; learn to be a better man when I remember the gifts that the universe has given to me and somehow return them in kind.

These colors are always more impressive in person.

Haven't seen anything like this before.

I love winter sunsets.

Lissa

1/20/2012 01:21:02 am

What an incredible sunset!!

Tony Ga

1/20/2012 01:28:07 am

Wow!

James C. (Knoxville, TN)

1/20/2012 01:46:52 am

Absolutely beautiful!!

Nadine

1/20/2012 01:47:43 am

Amazing! The pictures just make it harder to wait for our next trip up!

Kathy F

1/20/2012 01:56:45 am

All I can say is WOW! Amazing pictures once again.

Gina

1/20/2012 01:57:57 am

Again, stunning photos

Rod

1/20/2012 02:00:14 am

Fear not. Experience tells me that February and March always bring the best chances of extreme snowfall.

We're just getting to the good times.

Galen

1/20/2012 02:15:36 am

Fantastic pics. Just when i think they can't get any better JP you somehow find a way raise the bar again. Thanks

Mario from The Sunshine State

1/20/2012 02:29:52 am

Awesome PICS ! Can anyone recommend the Easiest trail up to the lodge please. I have a bad left knee and need to hike on the best trail up. Thanks

James W

1/20/2012 02:50:01 am

Mario, the Trillium is prob the easiest Alum cave is shortest but alot of Elevation there really is no easy way to get up!! Boulevard is the longest but less elevation gain all at once! but its almost 8 miles

Galen

1/20/2012 03:49:14 am

Mario, my wife has a bad knee also and we hike Alum. Not too bad going up. It's harder coming down. Get two good hiking poles to lessen the pressure and take it slow and you should be fine.

If you can't pull the beauty out of your back pocket, you'll have to open up your laptop like the rest of us. Not the same, but its pretty darn good to see your beautiful pictures. Enjoy your time up there, you are so lucky to have it all.

Can't wait to head back up there in March. I am going to be proposing to my girlfriend on cliff tops

JP

1/20/2012 10:28:26 am

Jay!
That is so awesome. There is no better spot. It's the most romantic place on earth. Good luck!

PS: I hope she isn't a blog reader!

Jay

1/20/2012 10:29:41 am

Haha, she's not. We took our first trip up there last July. I cant think of a better place to do it!

Doug

1/20/2012 02:13:01 pm

JP
The mis-shapen sun you saw was a sun "mirage" caused by the inversion layer you have had the last couple of days. A good website to look at atmospheric phenomenon, especially sunset and sunrise, start here: http://www.atoptics.co.uk/atoptics/sunmir.htm

If you can stay awake, the winter nightime sky is just as spectacular! Have a great weekend!

Debra

1/21/2012 01:31:17 am

AMAZING Pictures! I would love to know what camera you use.

Comments are closed.

LeConte Lodge

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